王秀凤

Once upon a time， a wise king dressed up and went to a local village. He placed a large stone in the middle of the main road and hid gold under the stone. Then he hid behind a huge tree and watched.

The first person down the street was a milkman with his car. He crashed into the stone and the milk spread all over the ground. “What fool put this stone here？ ” he shouted. He picked himself up and angrily went away.

After a while， a group of women came along， each balancing（平衡） a pot of water on her head. One woman tripped over（绊倒）the stone and her water pot went crashing to the ground. She picked herself up and walked away in tears. ①Neither she nor her friends thought about moving the stone out of the road.

The king watched all day as many people complained about the stone， but he found nobody was willing to move it. The king wondered， ②“Is there no one in this village who feels any responsibility（责任）to keep their neighbors from harm？”

Just then， the king saw a young girl coming along. She was the daughter of a local farmer. She had been working all day and was very tired. But when she saw the stone， she said to herself. “This stone is a danger to anyone who comes down the road after dark. I’ll move it out of the way.”

After a great deal of effort（努力）， the girl finally succeeded in moving the stone to the side of the road. Imagine her surprise when she saw the gold where the stone had been！

Just then， the king stepped out from behind the tree. “Oh sir，” the girl said， “Is this gold yours？ If not， we surely must find the owner， for he will certainly miss it.”

The king said， “My dear， the gold is mine， but now the gold is yours， ③because you are the only person who has learnt the lesson I want to teach my people.④Nothing good can come to a nation whose people only complain and expect others to solve their problems.”

[精彩譯文]

从前，一个睿智的国王盛装打扮去了当地的一个村庄。他在路中间放了一块大石头，把金子藏在石头下面， 然后他躲在一棵大树后面看着。

路过的第一个人是开着车的送奶工。他撞到石头上，牛奶撒了一地。“哪个傻瓜把这块石头放在这里？”他喊道。他站起来生气地走了。

过了一会儿，一群妇女走了过来，她们每人头上顶着一壶水。一个妇女被石头绊倒了，她的水壶摔在地上。她站起来哭着走开了。她和她的朋友们都没想过要把石头搬走。

国王一整天看着许多人抱怨这块石头，却没有人愿意搬走它。国王想：“这个村子里没有人觉得有责任保护他们的邻居不受伤害吗？”

就在这时，国王看见一个小女孩走过来。她是当地一个农民的女儿。她工作了一整天，感觉很累。但是当她看到石头时，她自言自语：“这石头对天黑后走路的人非常危险。我得把它移开。”

经过一番努力，女孩终于成功地把石头移到路边。想象一下，当她看到金子放在石头下面时，她是多么惊讶。

就在这时，国王从树后走了出来。“哦，先生，”女孩说，“这是你的金子吗？如果不是，我们一定要找到它的主人，因为他一定会非常着急地找它。”

国王说：“亲爱的，金子是我的，但现在它是你的了，因为你是唯一一个懂得了我要教给我的子民的道理的人。如果一个国家的人民只会抱怨，指望别人来解决他们的问题，那就没有什么希望了。好事情是不会降临到一个人民只会抱怨和坐等好处的国家的。……